10 Greatest Leeds Players Ever

10 Greatest Leeds Players Ever

Ten years ago Marching on Together ran a poll in conjunction with WACCOE, Leeds Chat and We Are Leeds of to find out the 100 Greatest Leeds Players Ever according to the fans. Ten years on we ask are there any players from the past decade that would make your top 100? Do Jermaine Beckford’s goal scoring antics, especially at Old Trafford, mean he warrants a place in the list? With the passing of time would any more of the Wilko team break into the top 10? Would Harry Kewell drop out of the top 20 all together for signing for Galatasaray?

Martyn became the country's first £1 million goalkeeper when joining Crystal Palace from Bristol Rovers in 1989, having made over 100 appearances for the West Country club. Leeds paid £2.25 million for him in the summer of 1996, then a record for a goalkeeper. He had a superb first season for the Whites as part of George Graham's Leeds revolution. His form continued to be a model of consistency and he was an ever-present between 1999 and 2002. He helped United to third place in the Premiership, a place in the Champions League and the semi-finals of the UEFA Cup. Replaced by Paul Robinson as first team keeper in 2002, he joined Everton in 2003 for a nominal fee. Played 273 games and was Leeds Player of the Year in 1997.

9) Jack Charlton (1952-1973)

"The Giraffe" of Revie's Leeds team and one of the most talented and respected centre halves in footballing history. Big Jack spent his entire footballing career at Leeds, making an astounding 733 appearances over 21 years and scoring 96 goals. His height was used to great advantage at Leeds corner kicks and his surprisingly agile defensive ability kept out even the greatest strikers of his day. He earned the first of his 35 England caps at the age of 30 and was an important part of the 1966 World Cup winning team. Jack retired from playing in 1973 and had mixed fortunes as a manager at several clubs, but his best known managerial success was with The Republic of Ireland.

8) Allan Clarke (1969-1978)

Christened "Sniffer" by the Leeds fan for his uncanny ability to look for and score goals out of nothing, he arrived at Leeds from Leicester, costing a record £165,000. He more than repaid Leeds by scoring 151 goals in 364 appearances for the Whites, including the goals that won Leeds the 1972 F.A. Cup and the Fairs Cup. In fact only Lorimer and Charles have scored more than "Sniffer" for Leeds. His attacking partnership with Jones and Lorimer is legendary and he was capped 19 times for England. Sold to Barnsley in 1978 he saw out his last footballing seasons as their player/manager, before returning in 1980 to unsuccessfully take the manager's job, at Leeds, seeing them relegated.

7) Johnny Giles (1963-1975)

Revie's midfield general and penalty expert, his sometimes telepathic footballing double act with King Billy was a joy to watch. He was signed from Manchester United in 1963, and under the Don's guidance, became one of the truly great midfield players of that era. In 12 seasons wearing the No.10 shirt at Leeds, he scored 115 goals in 525 matches. In his career as a player, he won 59 caps and scored 5 times for Ireland. After leaving Leeds, he coached in the USA and Canada and later coached W.B.A. and Shamrock Rovers, before managing Ireland in the late 70's.

6) Norman Hunter (1961-1976)

A hard but skilful left half, nicknamed "Bites Yer Legs", he daunted opposition players at home and across Europe, with his bone crunching tackling. Despite playing second fiddle to the favoured Bobby Moore, he was still capped 28 times for England. In his 15 years at Leeds, he made 724 appearances, scoring 21 goals before moving on to Bristol City in 1976 and later, to Barnsley. He ended his professional football career managing Rotherham and later coaching at Leeds and a spell as match commentator for Radio Leeds.